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Cotton gin at Navajoe, circa 1900.

When the Frisco built a rail line from Oklahoma City southwest to Quanah, Texas (about 1902)--and platted the town of Headrick only eight miles southeast of Navajoe--the little frontier town went into an immediate decline. Smaller businesses were raised from their foundations, mounted on wheels, and pulled to Headrick. Larger establishments were wrecked for scrap. Almost overnight Navajoe ceased to exist. A farmer acquired the townsite, plowed it under, and planted crops.

The town of Navajo(e) took its name from the nearby mountains. According to tradition, a party of Navajo warriors ventured into the region during a raid for Comanche ponies. The Comanches caught the Navajos and killed them. Thus, the group of small peaks became known as the "Navajo" Mountains. When the town applied for a post office in 1887, it was required to add a final "e"--to distinguish the town from other post offices in the United States already named "Navajo."

Navajo(e) began in 1886 when two brothers-in-law, W H Acre and H P Dale, opened a general store in the area. Edward Everett Dale, the son of H P Dale, later became a renowned Oklahoma historian.

Joseph Works, also known as "Buckskin Joe," lived at Navajoe while he promoted settlement in Old Greer County through his Texas-Oklahoma Homestead Colony.

Last reviewed: 2004/07/24